Vacation bible school will soon be in full swing and though it's been exhausting, it has been a blast planning all the activities. This is my first year as director and its been quite the experience. So many people have jumped on board to help with decorations.

PAPER LANTERN FISH

I made these fish from paper lanterns I found at Dollar Tree. I made a template for the tail and used a heart shape for the lips and fins. I had some printable eyes that worked perfect for fish eyes. Everyone loves them.

JELLYFISH MADE FROM TARP

My very talented sister in law made one of the jelly fish that will be used in the worship rally.

She used lightweight tarp material that her husband had stored in his shop. She bunched it up and shaped it.

PAPER PLATE CRABS

I made these crabs from red paper plates from Dollar Tree.

I made a template for the claws and cut them from another red plate so they would match. You can make 2 claws from one plate. Use pipe cleaner for the legs. I used glue dots to secure them .

AND MY FAVORITE PHOTO OF ALL.

SHARK PHOTO BOOTH MADE FROM CARDBOARD

My very own Tom the Builder.

My husband built this photo booth for the kids and he also built a cool puppet stage and just helped in so many ways. Love this man!!!

Weddings are so expensive but here's a diy project that will help the bride save money. My daughter made these reception glasses for a friends wedding. Using the brides chosen colors, she made glasses for each parent and put the names and the wedding date on the back. The glasses are just adorable and this is a great project to cut wedding costs. Less stress for the bride and a sure way to make great memories.

Last year I organized my craft supplies because I kept buying supplies I didn't need. I was buying duplicates of duplicates. It just makes economical sense to organize craft supplies.

These storage drawers can be found at Lowes in the hardware department. My first thought was it would make a great craft organizer. You can make your own labels or use Avery labels to identify the contents.You can change the whole look by painting the organizer. This can be done by taking all the drawers out and using a spray paint for plastic. Be gone the dreaded gray "man color". This is the best craft organizer if you have a lot of small items.

This is a great system for craft papers that is portable. It is a plastic container that has groves to hang the files. It holds laminating sheets,photo paper,labels,velum,colored card stock and anything else that is paper size in this file. It can be easily moved to any place you craft.

Plastic drawers make great storage for crafts and basket making items. I have a gift drawer for women and girls. When I find something on sale I buy it and save it for a basket or a gift combo for later. Gift packs are good to buy when they are priced to sell. Break them down and put in your gift drawer. You are ready for any occasion without a trip to the store.

You can also make a drawer for kids gifts. Buy products on sale and save them until you need them for gifts or baskets.

I have a 3 drawer plastic bin where I keep all my gift basket supplies. I have shreds, excelsior, tulle, teddy bears, and I keep a few gift items in the bottom bin.

Organize tape,glue sticks, and glue dots in the same drawer. Use small baskets to separate them. There are a lot of ways to organize your crafts, but with the small area I have for crafting, this works best for me. It's been over a year now and all my stuff is still organized.

January is National Hobby Month. Hobbies are a great way to make friends with your same passion. Children and parents can really bond when they share the love of a hobby. Can't decide what to choose for a hobby? Here are some ideas to get you started

Acting

Amateur Radio

Caring for Animals

Arts

Astrology

Astronomy

Backgammon

Badminton

Baseball

Basketball

Bead work

Boxing

Belly Dancing

Bicycling

Bird watching

Board Games

Boating

Body Building

Bowling

Butterfly Watching

Button Collecting

Cake Decorating

Calligraphy

Camping

Candle Making

Canoeing

Car Racing

Cheerleading

Chess

Coin Collecting

Collecting Antiques

Collecting Artwork

Collecting Music Albums

Compose Music

Computer activities

Cooking

Crafts

Crocheting

Cross Stitching

Crossword Puzzles

Dancing

Photography

Collecting Dolls

Dominoes

Drawing

Embroidery

Entertaining

Exercise

Fishing

Football

Four Wheeling

Aquariums

Gardening

Garage Saleing

Genealogy

Golf

Go Kart Racing

Guitar

Hiking

Horseback riding

Hot air ballooning

Hula Hooping

Hunting

Jewelry Making

Puzzles

Juggling

Kayaking

Knitting

Learn A Foreign Language

Playing an Instrument

Leather crafting

Lego’s

Magic

Metal Detecting

Motorcycles

Mountain Biking

Painting

Paintball

People Watching

Photography

Piano

Reading

Rock Collecting

Running

Scrapbooking

Scuba Diving

Sewing

Soap Making

Swimming

Toy Collecting

Traveling

Walking

Woodworking

Sun Tanning

Collecting Vintage Music

Stamp Collecting

Starting a Blog

Write Music

Fish Aquariums

Dominoes

It is a fact that hobbies make you a more interesting person and learning new skills is definitely a great way to keep your mind alert.

Fill Balloons With Candy and Toys using the following technique. I have always liked the idea of filling balloons with candy and letting the kids pop them but I didn't like the idea of filling each balloon. We know how the friction can slow things down. If you make a water bottle funnel (use a bottle with a wide mouth) you can easily push candy into balloons. Use orange and black for Halloween parties, Red or Green for Christmas Parties, pink for a girls birthday party, blue for a boys birthday Parties , and pastels for Easter parties. How about filling with small baby shower gifts and letting mom to be pop the balloon. For Gender Reveal baby showers, fill with pink or blue confetti and let someone special pop the balloon.There are so many ways this idea can be used. Use larger balloons for larger items. And don't forget money slides in easily too. Teens love money.

This is one of the coolest projects I have seen lately. This site has step by step tutorial on how to etch on glass. She uses the subway art which is awesome but you could use monograms or cute graphics for children's glass mugs. There are a lot of ways to use this technique. Visit her site at A Girl in Paradise for this easy tutorial.

I am so in love with this pillow. This is on my project to do list as soon as I buy the supplies. The graphic is from the graphics fairy site. I have been to that site hundreds of times but my mind never conceived an idea like this. I found this while I was looking for sewing ideas. I cleaned out a back room today and dug out my sewing machine. As soon as I locate my bobbins, thread, and machine needles, or most likely go and buy some, I'm going to do this. She warns about using your printer to print on fabrics, but I have printed on paper bags, tissue paper, and many other items not associated with printing. It is just the matter of not leaving ends that will get caught in the printer. If you are interested in learning her technique visit her site at My Repurposed Life. Don't forget to visit The Graphics Fairy for free graphics...we would love see any projects you make.Here is a site called Instructables showing how to use freezer paper to print on fabrics. Lots of good info here.

Make you own Transfer Paper with this cool idea from the Home Frosting site. Transfer paper is very expensive but this sure takes a bite out of the cost. This site has a step by step tutorial. Great idea for the crafter that transfers graphics to t shirts and other fabrics. She says you can also use this method to transfer to wood.

Photo:Here Comes the Sun

And then, check out this do it yourself light table that can be use to trace graphics. You can go to her site at Here Comes the Sun.

Cute Attention getter cupcake display. Hand crafted cupcake holder is great for Halloween Parties. Click on tutorial at Pure Joy Events for step by step instructions. She also has some great ideas for a Halloween Party. Send these cool invitations out to get the party started.

With Back to School around the corner I thought this was a great idea to help reduce the stress.This idea came from a mom whose son always forgot his lunch in the morning. She glued post it notes on a clothespin and clipped it on her sons backpack. She changed it each day to remind him not to forget something he needed to take with him. Simple yet effective.Not only is this great idea for kids and Teachers, This would be good to clip on a pocketbook to remind us of things as we head out of the house.This would have been useful for me when I was traveling back and forth to Charleston with a friend . I got in such a hurry I forgot to pack some very essential things. She still rags me about the trip I made without Undies.Do you have a tip that works for you and your family for back to school? *photo from Family Fun

How clever is this? I have drawers full of ribbon just screaming organize me or let me go. Best idea I've seen for ribbon organization. You have it at your fingertips with the ability to pull off as much as you need with one easy pull. You can find the basket and dowels at Walmart. You simply put the spools on the sticks and thread the end of the ribbon through the holes. You can have a giftwrapped and ready in a jiffy with this cool idea. Visit Spunky Junky for the tutorial.

Thrifty Indeed...I can see myself now going through thrift shops looking for the perfect vase and plate for a recycled cake stand.This could be used at a mother daughter tea or I thought about Kids themed plate (the plastic kind) with a plastic vase for Children's Birthday parties... You can find the instruction for this fabulous idea at Design Sponge.

I have posted ideas for Easter baskets before, but since Easter is near, I decided to post it again to show how to make personalized Easter baskets for all ages. Of course there is the usual Easter basket ideas for toddlers and other Easter basket ideas, but this list also includes ideas for adult easter baskets, teen, pre teens, and Easter baskets for babies.If you are drawing a blank about what to put in your childs basket, here are some great ideas.

If you are doing several Easter baskets for family and friends you may be overwhelmed trying to decide what to fill them with. Often it works best to determine what your basket recipient would like depending on their age. Following is a guideline for choosing the contents for Easy Easter baskets by age- For a toddler basket- You will want this Easter gift basket to be full of small things that will delight your child. Candy should be kept to a minimum since it is often difficult to regulate with a very young child. You could include:

Books-Cardboard books work especially well for this age group since they can stand up to rough usage.

Toys-Small toys will enchant this age child but make sure there are not small pieces that can break off and be a choking hazard

Bubbles

Puzzles that are age appropriate

A plush animal

For an elementary age child's Easter gift basket- This age group is ready to take on more complicated toys. They are the most enthusiastic about Easter and will be delighted to go through Easter basket. You could include:

Art supplies-markers, pens and pencils, paper and stickers

Travel games

Easter themed plush animals

Character based toys

Water toys

Candy and other treats that they enjoy

For a pre teen basket- While this age group may seem reluctant to join in the fun of a basket they will secretly love getting one. You could include:

DVDs of a recent hit movie for this age group

CD's or a gift card to download music

Makeup as appropriate

Locker accessories for school

Items that reflect a personal interest or hobby

Snack packs of treats that they can keep in their locker

For a teenager's Easter basket- They may seem even more reluctant than their pre-teen counterparts but you should not be fooled by their standoffish behavior. They will also enjoy getting an Easter basket with the following items-

A gas card if the teenager is driving

A gift certificate to their favorite store

CDs of a gift card to download music

Items that reflect a personal interest or hobby

Treats and other snacks that they would enjoy

For a college student's basket- This Easter basket may have to be mailed if your college student cannot come home at Easter. But you can let them know that they are thought of with the following items-

A money gift card(since most college students are always broke)

Treats or other food items that remind them of home. Whether it is home baked chocolate chip cookies or ones from a special bakery they will appreciate it.

School supplies

Items to decorate a dorm or apartment

For an adult Easter basket- An adult Easter basket can be personalized to fit the interest or hobbies of the recipient but any adult would be happy with the following basket. You could include:

Gourmet chocolates-don't forget a chocolate Easter bunny

Peeps-because every Easter basket should have them

A gift certificate to a favorite restaurant perhaps accompanied by movie tickets

Assorted Easter candies and trinkets as appropriate for the Easter recipient

For a grandparent- Whether a grandparent is near or far they would love to receive an Easter gift basket with the following items:

A small but easy to care for flowering plant

Pictures from loved ones

A digital frame fully loaded with pictures

A gift card to a favorite restaurant (many seniors are on fixed incomes and appreciate this)

It took me a while to organize all of my pony beads but it will be so worth it. I put them all in little zip top clear jewelry bags. You can find these at Hobby Lobby or A C Moore. I buy alot of different sizes because they are so handy for small items if you craft. I have them organized by colors, except one bag of mixed neon colors. This has inspired me so much I'm now looking for crafts that use pony beads. I sure have enough of them to make something. I have so many because I would buy another pack when I went shopping not knowing if I had that color. It will be simple now to just pull out my craft drawer and see if I have that color. I had them in several different places, now they have a home.